Tegan was exhausted by the time Lindsey helped her into bed. The day drained her completely and she fell asleep almost instantly. A couple of hours later Lindsey woke up when Tegan stirred next to her. Tegan made a whimpering sound and moved her head from side to side. Lindsey watched as her lips and her facial muscles moved. Tegan suddenly seemed distraught. She mumbled something that Lindsey couldn't make out. She looked scared and mumbled again, louder this time "No... no please..." Lindsey started to get worried and shook Tegan's shoulder lightly "Wake up baby" she said. Tegan's breathing became shallow and rapid. "Nooo... nooo this can't be... no don't stop... no... no... Lindsey" said Tegan in her sleep. "Tegan! Wake up! You're having a nightmare, wake up!" said Lindsey now almost shouting. Tegan's facial muscles contracted again and she started crying, harder and harder... each sob louder and more heart breaking than the first. "Noooo" she mumbled through sobs and shook her head from side to side. She flapped her arms and was breathing fast. Lindsey shook her harder this time "Tegan! Tegan! Wake up!" she shouted. Sonia came into the room after being woken up by the commotion. "What's going on is everything okay" she asked. Tegan's eyes flew open but she was still sobbing and starting to hyperventilate. She seemed to not be registering where she was. She was struggling for breath through her sobs... "I can't... I ... please... babies" she sobbed. "Tegan! Baby I'm right here! Right here! Tegan it was just a dream sweetie! Just a dream" Lindsey tried to console Tegan. Tegan just sobbed some more in her arms, struggling to breathe. Her body shook as she wept. Sonia moved closer, "Tegan! It's mom... It was just a nightmare. Sweetie, try to calm down please" she said. "Tegan was now sobbing hysterically. Sonia had never seen her wail like this, she started to panic. "Aaaaagghhh Lindsey" she cried. Lindsey just held her close to her chest "I'm here Tegan, I'm right here". Tegan was now starting to wheeze. "... can't... breathe..." whispered Tegan holding her throat. "Sonia, call Kate" said Lindsey looking panicked. Sonia seemed terrified and grabbed Lindsey's cell phone from the nightstand. "Kate... sorry to wake you... it's Tegan... please come down I think she needs help" said Sonia into the phone. Tegan seemed to be calming down slightly as Lindsey rubbed her back. "Shh baby, just a dream" she whispered. Stifled moans escaped Tegan's throat every few seconds. She suddenly started sobbing loudly again just as Kate came running into the room with her medical bag. She was in her pyjamas. "What's going on" she asked panting. "I don't know I think she may be having a panic attack. She had a nightmare and I just can't calm her down. She's freaking out" said Lindsey putting Tegan down on the pillows again. Tegan seemed to lose it when Lindsey let go of her. "Lindsey... No!" she wailed. "I'm right here Tee, right here." said Lindsey and she held Tegan's hand tight and put her other hand on her chest. She felt Tegan's erratic breathing under her hand.
Kate put two fingers on Tegan's neck and felt her pulse. It was sky high. She took Tegan's face in both her hands "Tegan... Tegan open your eyes and look at me!" she said calmly but firmly. Tegan opened her eyes. "Calm down... take a deep breath... come on... nice deep breath, everything's okay... it was just a dream... Just a dream. Everybody's fine" said Kate holding Tegan's face and looking into her eyes. Tegan seemed to calm down slightly. Kate wheeled the oxygen from behind the room divider and put the mask on Tegan's face. "Easy Tee... deep breaths... slowly" she said as she listened to Tegan's heart. The electronic BP monitor beeped and Kate looked at the result. "I'm hooking her up to the ECG her vitals are all over the place" said Kate. Tegan tried to sit up but dizziness forced her to plonk back down. "Linds... Lindsey..." she mumbled. "Right here baby" said Lindsey and stroke Tegan's cheek. "Are you okay... are the babies okay" asked Tegan looking scared. "We're all fine sweetie... it was just a nightmare! Shhh relax for me" said Lindsey. Lindsey watched Tegan calm down as Kate attached electrodes to her chest. "I'm okay Kate... I'm sorry... Sorry... I'm fine..." said Tegan. "I just need to make sure buddy, you just relax for me and keep taking nice deep breaths. Your pulse ox is quite low" said Kate. Tegan looked up at Lindsey's face and her chin started quivering, she was fighting for breath again. "Linds... you're okay" she said as she started sobbing again wheezing for breath in between. "Tegan calm down now bud or I'm going to have to sedate you" said Kate. She flipped on the monitor and it came alive visualising Tegan's rapid and erratic heart rate. Kate had a look of concern on her face. "Okay Tee I need to get you on another IV – just relax everything's fine" said Kate. "Please don't take me back to hospital" said Tegan sounding winded. "I'm going to try my best not to buddy" she smiled. "I was so scared Linds... it didn't feel like a dream..." said Tegan and let out another sob. Her heart rate sped up even more as images from the nightmare came back to her. Kate injected something into Tegan's IV and a few seconds later the drugs made her eyelids start to droop, she tiredly tried to force them open, she was mumbling something incomprehensible scared to go back into her dream, a nightmare where she lost Lindsey and their babies on the same day.
A few minutes of monitoring followed. Kate had the stethoscope on a drugged up Tegan's chest again and started speaking as she took it out of her ears and hung it around her neck. "The panic attack caused some arrhythmias that I'm having some trouble controlling. That's causing her BP and pulse ox to be way too low. I think we may have to re-admit her I need to monitor her for the next day or two." said Kate. Lindsey started crying "No... she's gonna hate this" she said. "She's okay guys but we need to monitor her heart. Her heart muscles were compromised significantly while she was in hospital and this kind of strain really is not good. We need to make sure she doesn't crash suddenly" said Kate looking worried. She took another two IV bags out of the supply box and inserted two more lines into Tegan's arm "I'm going to put her on some meds and keep her here for the next few hours, let's see how she goes. If need be we can admit her a bit later. But, whether we admit her or not, she's still going to need to go the hospital for some tests and scans." said Kate. "She was fine a few hours ago. She was walking outside. Chatting, laughing. She was fine" said Lindsey.
Kate sat next to Tegan's bed carefully studying her heart monitor for the next hour. Dawn was breaking outside. "What's the verdict doc?" asked Sonia. "Her pressure is still quite low and her oxygen levels are struggling. As a result her cardiac output is low. I'm sorry guys but we're gonna need to get her back to the hospital." Lindsey looked at Tegan sleeping. She stroke her hair. She didn't want Tegan back in hospital but she wanted her healthy so she was happy to agree to whatever it took to get her there. "It's okay baby... Kate's gonna take good care of you" she whispered. Kate quickly got dressed in the clothes Sonia brought her from the main house.
Sara came running into the room looking upset. "What's going on? Tegan? Tee? What... I don't understand... what's going on?" she repeated. "No... dammit... no..." she said as tears burst from her eyelids after Kate informed her of what's going on. "But... but last night she was fine... She was fine... A panic attack caused this? How? What the hell was she panicking about? She doesn't look panicked any more she seems fine?" rambled Sara upset. "We don't know. She's okay Sara, I just want to do some tests and scans. She was due to go for these anyway tomorrow. I'd rather be too careful and do them now! I'm hoping we can have her out of there today still or maybe tomorrow. But let's just make 100% sure she's okay" said Kate and smiled. Tegan stirred and opened her eyes. She looked around the room confused. "Hi baby" said Lindsey. "What happened..." whispered Tegan. "You're okay Tee. We're just going to take you to the hospital for a few tests" said Kate. Tegan's heart monitor sped up significantly "No... No please don't... I'm okay... okay..." she mumbled. "Whoa! Take it easy. You probably are Tegan but I need you to trust me on this one okay" said Kate. Tegan put both her shaky hands under the mask and over her mouth. "Fuck..." she whispered and closed her eyes.